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A Role for Asik?
“Does Asik have an on-court role on this team for this season? Any part of next? (None of this is to say he should not be traded.)” 42: Yes, I think so. Davis has missed some time (not significant time), but Cousins is now out. Shouldn’t that open the door for him? Asik has seen […]
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Some DeMarcus Cousins Injury Implications
What are the implications of the Cousins injury? Pick any aspect, any timeframe. 42: I’m going to take a long-term look here. “It’s over,” crossed my mind more than once in the past 36 hours. No matter what contract Cousins gets where, I don’t see the Pelicans being able to go out and get the […]
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An open letter to DeMarcus Cousins
Dear DeMarcus, You don’t know me, but I have probably seen almost every game you have ever played while wearing a jersey with “New Orleans” or “Pelicans” across the chest. Occasionally, I may miss a game here and there because of working on other assignments, but even then I’m streaming games, following play-by-play on Twitter […]
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Appreciating DeMarcus Cousins
We here at Bourbon Street Shots are stunned and crestfallen. To DeMarcus Cousins, his friends, family, fans, and everyone that benefits from his talents, his good will, and his presence: Our thoughts are with you. All the analysis will come, but for now, we decided to just appreciate DeMarcus. This will be added to as […]
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We’re all sad, but DeMarcus Cousins had one hell of a season
I’m sad. We’re sad. But nothing can compare to the pain and anguish that DeMarcus Cousins must be going through right now. After leading for pretty much the entire game, the New Orleans Pelicans were on the precipice of losing to the Houston Rockets. However with just over 2 minutes left in the game Luc […]
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Mulling Miller
Should Miller be getting more minutes? A different spot in the rotation? If not now, when? Mason: It looks like things are already trending that way: Miller has played 30+ regulation minutes in each of his past 3 games. Gentry appears to have landed on one of two crunch time lineups depending on the matchup: […]
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Discussing Hill’s Role
How to optimize Hill, and will he be in that role? Michael Pellissier: I think Solomon Hill is best utilized as a small-ball 4. Hill had the 10th worst points per possession mark in the league last season of guys qualified for the MPG leaderboard: he is not the “driver” or “slasher” he is sometimes […]
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From scrub to sub: Pelicans’ Darius Miller is a bench weapon
As if he were the protagonist in an ancient epic, small Forward Darius Miller was released from the New Orleans Pelicans on November 30, 2014 and has now emerged as a top reserve player in his first season back with the team that let him go. Miller struggled to crack into the rotation in his […]
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The V in Thanksgiving
I thought about writing this post at the start of the season, but it didn’t feel right, so I waited. I’m not driven or moved by arbitrary deadlines. Especially not with this. A holiday celebrating food, generosity, and history in part using sports is right. Yeah. I want to express my deep gratitude and appreciation […]
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Thoughts on Injuries, Rotation, Roster Moves
Some thoughts on the return of injured players. Frank Jackson could return in the coming weeks, with a 3-4 month window reported on September 1. Jackson was unlikely to be slated for meaningful minutes, but being an insurance policy beyond Charles Cooke could help add confidence to a move to acquire a big. Alexis Ajinca […]
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The value Darren Erman provides for the Pelicans on defense
(Be sure to follow Brendon on twitter.) Lost in the concern over injuries and questions about Alvin Gentry’s future is a fact: Darren Erman has been a very valuable assistant during his time on the New Orleans Pelicans bench. Since taking over as lead assistant for Randy Ayers before the 2015-16 season, Erman has crafted […]
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Coming to Terms with Rondo
Here is how I overcame my initial concerns with the Rondo signing to view him favorably now. When the New Orleans Pelicans signed Rajon Rondo, I was a bit stunned. I was not stunned because of the magnitude of the move or anything like that. I was stunned because I, frankly, had fairly uniform negative […]
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Can the Pelicans Reduce Their Turnovers?
This post first appeared in an abbreviated form on Twitter @BourbonStShots Sunday morning. Follow for more. The short of it: I don’t see a problem, a reduction would be nice, and a slight reduction in some bad behavior should be sought, but I’d take an increase in turnovers if they came the right way. Let’s […]
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Considering Trading For Bledsoe
If Bledsoe is truly available and is open to coming to the New Orleans Pelicans, they can not play meek and hedge their bets, not in an NBA where stars are attracting stars and they are in a favorable initial position. Bledsoe may not be an ideal fit, but the Pelicans may be in a […]
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Jameer Nelson signing is worth losing Crawford, should help offense
Jameer Nelson, who was cut last week by the Denver Nuggets ahead of his age-35 season, is exactly what the Pelicans need from their backcourt rotation, especially until Rajon Rondo returns from injury. Without Rondo, the Pelicans have been forced to alter the identity they crafted around Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins in training camp. […]
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Sprinkling in Some Long 2’s
Wednesday night in Memphis, the Pelicans looked good in the first quarter, and things unraveled to start the second. The game was about even until a Memphis run in the third, and the Pelicans were really never close again. There were several things going well for New Orleans throughout the game: Rebounding, getting to the […]
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42 Sense: Season Ahead
The New Orleans Pelicans tip off the season tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies. At long last, we find the Pelicans in a key season. Each season you’ve heard (elsewhere) how this is make or break for some reason or another. This time I’m telling you: this one is a watershed season. As noted in the […]
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Overreacting to the first Pelicans preseason game
After a long (very long) off-season we finally had our first action of New Orleans Pelicans basketball. With so much conjecture as to how well the team will perform this season, it was nice to be able to see some substantive play. And we all know that whatever happens in the very first pre-season game […]
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It Begins
The Pelicans’ long standing offseason ritual of offering a would-be starter up as a sacrifice to the basketball gods found its latest lamb, and while offerings in recent years haven’t won the gods’ favor, hope still remains that they shall one day look down upon New Orleans basketball sufferings and answer the many cries for […]
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Grainy Defense
[youtube id=”INZsZPbLdSQ” width=”620″ height=”360″] “What’s the basketball vision right now? What kind of team are they? We don’t know.” It took until the last day of the regular season, but by the time the dust settled on April 15th, 2015, the New Orleans Pelicans found themselves in possession of the final seed in […]